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Livin' the Sprite Life
Livin' the Sprite Life, formerly known as Livin' the Sprite Life with Aslan and Dokuma, is a popular comic series on BZPower and was written by Dokuma, Aslan, OnuaNuva: King of the Underground, and Schism. It prides itself on its pledge to avoid stereotypical sprite comic jokes such as "pie" and "burn stuff," instead delivering humor by (usually) more sane means. It is also technically considered a studio comic. In the late spring/early summer of 2009, its BZPower topic died, though Dokuma and OnuaNuva reposted it. The comics can be viewed here. Livin' the Sprite Life: The Deuce was released on September 17, 2009 with authors Dokuma, OnuaNuva: King of the Underground (or Tarroc), and Motago. The format of LTSL changed from dark blue to orange with the new season. History LTSL began in fall of 2004 after Dokuma responded to a request in his friend Aslan's signature asking for people interested in co-authoring a comic series with him. Since then, though Aslan's online activity was spotty, the series soon took off, with Dokuma along posting 45 comics in the first year. Eventually, Dokuma permitted another friend of his, Tarroc (then known as OnuaNuva: King of the Underground) to join the series as a co-writer. Aslan finally announced that he would be leaving BZPower, leaving the series to Dokuma. But in homage to Aslan, his character was never removed from the series, nor was his memory forgotten. A friend of Dokuma's in real life, Schism, later joined the series on what began as a provisional basis while he attempted to build up his popularity on BZPower. After being a writer for a month or so, Dokuma, enjoying his comics, compelled him to stay. He has remained a coauthor ever since, though his activity has dropped to near zero and his comics were lost. With Dokuma being the only coauthor who is still active on a regular basis and the topic starter, he has had to maintain the series relatively autonomously as of late, albeit updates being somewhat infrequent. Originally, guest stars were openly accepted (and often came in at an astronomical rate) onto a five-slot list. When people asked to guest star and the list was full, however, Dokuma would often pledge to alert them when a slot opened up, thus defeating the whole purpose of a finite list. This policy was soon terminated, and a new rule was made whereby members asking to guest star while the list was full would have their requests completely ignored. Eventually, it was determined that the other characters should be given more appearances, thus Dokuma closed the guest star list, only making occasional exceptions for friends (Tarroc kept his open, however). much. ;P]] Due to the infrequency of comics, the BZPower topic eventually died. On September 17, 2009, a sequel was launched by Tarroc and Dokuma, and included Motago as author as well. The comics were met with praise. Traditions Out-of-series Because it is one of the few comic series with significant longevity on BZPower, it has celebrated four anniversaries thusfar. The first anniversary was considered a milestone, and as such, much ado was made. In addition to a special-edition comic (which became the norm for anniversaries to come), a promotional sprite kit featuring Dokuma and Aslan in Bioniplush form was released, and once the topic hit 1,000 posts as well, a promotional banner was released. The second anniversary received noticeably less celebration, featuring only the special-edition comic. The third and fourth anniversaries were only mentioned in passing. In-series Though the writers of LTSL usually express disdain for clichés common to all comic series as of late, over the years, it has developed several of its own (many having to do with Guest Star Abuse). The mallet First introduced in Dokuma's 28th comic, the mallet, originally incorrectly referred to as an oversized cartoon gavel, has become an ongoing joke in both Dokuma's comics and those of his cowriters. It is one of the many ways in which the authors frequently and sterotypically engage in Guest Star Abuse. The Sprite-Switcher :For more information, see the main article. Appearing as early as comic 5 and becoming a running theme ever since, the Sprite-Switcher (often abbreviated "SS") is an electronic device intended to change the sprite form of a character from one form to another. New models were created each year, known respectively as the SS-05, SS-06, SS-07 and the SS-08, with model numbers conspicuously based upon the year in which it was "released." As a point of humor, for each year the Sprite-Switcher was released, it was depicted as increasingly larger and more damage-inflicting, even to the point where it completely strayed from its original purpose. It is yet another way Guest Star Abuse is accomplished. The "models" can be considered as follows: Idea of LTSL as a Television Series From relatively early on, Dokuma began to interject the idea of LTSL being sort of a television show into his comics, sometimes openly acknowledging the presence of a fictitious "set" outside of the panel, the need to market the "show" to other "stations," and even a detailed list of "employees" working behind the scenes. This is sometimes complimented by the occasional breaking of the fourth wall, where a host often addresses the viewers head-on at the onset of each strip. For more information, see Livin' the Sprite Life Studios. Ga-Koroans As all of LTSL's writers are teenage males, jokes concerning the ability of one to attract the opposite gender (or lack thereof) were in no short supply. These include Akano's having mistaken Weku for a female, Wyattu's being chased by a crazed mob of fangirls, and OnuaNuva's obsession with Gali to the point of mental coercion. Procrastination Often, Dokuma acknowledges his almost unending procrastination in comics posted after a long period of hiatus. This is more unfortunate and lazy than humorous. Sprite form rotation Originally unable to settle upon a single sprite kit to use for the series, Dokuma, OnuaNuva, and The_Gamble frequently rotated between sprites such as those of the Rayg Kit 2.0, the Mini-Toa Kit, and Bioniplush. Often, this became a characteristic of LTSL's individuality compared to others. However, lately most authors have settled on using The ToM Kit 2. ICT and Doritos Because of his being a constructive critic of the comics, the joke has been made that all he does is sit around eating Doritos and criticizing the authors. Due to his outrage after the joke was first used, it is now a regular joke. Razor Sprites Because Razor sprites are (or were) considered one of the greatest manifestations of stereotypical comic-making, Razor sprites were often the subject of discrimination, especially on the part of Dokuma and in comics involving the Sprite-Switcher. This, however, is ironic, because Dokuma is a great fan of Marty Razor Kirra's newer sprites, and is on quite good terms with him. Characters Authors Recurring Guest Stars LTSL: The Movie :For more information, see the full article. Several years ago, Dokuma attempted to create LTSL: The Movie, though the project never got on its feet past episode one due to the inconvenience of production. The plot took place immediately after the defeat of Makuta Teridax in the official 2003 Bionicle storyline. As the Matoran of Mata Nui prepare to depart for the newly rediscovered island of Metru Nui, the authors and cast of LTSL are beamed away and held hostage in the Mangaia. Teridax, who is still very much alive, intends to interrogate them to learn if they are a danger to him because of their prophesied destinies. The movie was also intended to feature Galigee and a squadron of wild Rahkshi later in the storyline. Crossovers Towards the end of the series, several comics under the umbrella of Mission: LTSL Invasion were made, featuring LTSL comics made to resemble thsoe of other series. The plotlines of the comics were essentially comprised of short visits to the realms of other comic series. Randamonium, Project Klinkerpoop, Generic Quest, and even LTSL itself were among the series "visited." Mission: LTSl Invasion concluded with the return of all the alternate forms of the LTSL characters from the prior comics converging onto the LTSL set. External Links *The New Topic *The Old Topic *Fan Comics and Fan Art Category:Comics Category:Studio Comics